Cryptozoology

According to Peter Costello in The Magic Zoo, there were several sightings of a mermaid around the Isle of Man during 1961. One of the witnesses was said to be the Lady Mayor of Peel. In August 1961 the Manx Tourist Board apparently offered a prize to whoever could capture the mermaid alive.

In July 1833 a team of six fishermen entangled a mermaid in their fishing lines off the Isle of Yell. Read More »

Over the last 250 years there have been several sightings of a creature that has become known as the Jersey Devil (or Leeds Devil). Described as being bipedal with hooves and wings, the Jersey Devil would apparently dry up the milk within cows by breathing upon them. Read More »

Llyn Tegid is Wales’s largest lake being nearly four miles long. It lies in a rift valley running north east to south west, extending down to the sea at Tywyn. The lake is 529 feet above sea level, has a maximum depth of 136 feet and covers an area of 1084 acres. Read More »

Lake Memphremagog (meaning "where there is a big expanse of water" in native Algonkian) is a thin twenty seven mile long freshwater glacial lake which some believe is the home to a huge serpent like creature known as Memphré. Lake Memphremagog spans across the border between Canada and the United States of America. Read More »

Apart from the famous Loch Ness Monster, there are many more reports of mysterious creatures within the lakes and lochs of Britain, dating as far back as recorded history, and probably further. Some are mingled with old folklore about dragons and mermaids, while the more modern sightings have often become attributed to unidentified real creatures, including extinct dinosaurs. Read More »

There have been several reports of big cats in the Dartford Heath area. A Newshopper article by Alison White in 2006 confirmed that four sightings had been reported in October and November of that year. Read More »

The glacial lake of Llyn Cau at Cader Idris is said to be bottomless and according to tradition it is thought to be the home of a lake monster responsible for drowning a man who went swimming in the cold waters. Read More »

At 1,970 feet above sea level, and covering an area of 18 acres Llyn Glaslyn is one of the glacial lakes of Yr Wyddfa (Mount Snowdon), and being the highest and remotest of the larger lakes it abounds in legend. Read More »

Loch Awe is Scotlands third largest fresh water loch at with a length of 35km and total surface area of 14.9 miles. It shares a common legend about its creation which concerns a well that flooded. Read More »

It is surprising how many lochs in Inverneshire have monster traditions and sightings, Loch Ness, Loch Lhinne, Loch Lochy, and Loch Arkaig to name a few. Read More »

In his 'Guide to Gairloch and Loch Maree' (1886), John H. Dixon gave the following account of a creature that was said to live in Loch na Beiste roughly 50 years early. 'The existence of water-kelpies in Gairloch, if perhaps not universally credited in the present generation, was accepted as undoubted in the last. Read More »

Loch Ness is famed in modern times as the supposed abode of a strange long necked monster, but the area is also rich in folklore, which Read More »

Loch Uravel or Urabhal in Gaelic is a small body of water roughly 2 miles north of Achmore. On 27 July 1961 two teachers fishing at the loch had a strange experience. Thirty five metres from their boat they reputedly saw a two headed, single humped creature swim by.

Lough Dubh or Black’s Lake is a popular fishing venue by the river suck which was the scene of a possible monster sighting in the early 1960’s a creature was hooked by Mr Mullaney (a schoolmaster) and his son whilst out fishing. Described as having "short thick legs with small ears and a white pointed horn on the snout. Read More »

During the last twentieth century there have been a few experiences that have led to suggestions that the Mawddach Estuary at Barmouth may be the home of a sea monster. According to Mysterious Wales by Chris Barber a local woman claimed to have found four large footprints in the sand, described as being ‘as big as an elephant’s’. Read More »

The following I was told near Xiangshawan Gorge in the Gobi desert. The guides seemed to genuinely believe this tale rather than treating it as a legend. The Mongol people of Mongolia and northern China are tough. They are skilled archers, hunters and wrestlers. They also among the most famous horsemen in the world, learning to ride almost as soon as they can walk. Read More »

Robert or should this be William Winstantley of Saffron Walden wrote a pamphlet titled 'The Flying Serpent or Strange News Out of Essex - A True Relation of a Monsterous Serpent seen at Henham on the Mount in Saffron Walden,’ published in 1699. Part of the text concerning this dragon is repeated below. Read More »

Morgawr, which is old Cornish for sea monster and has been seen several times this century.

There have been many sightings since 1926 and some photographs have been taken showing a dark mass with several humps. As with many monster photographs none of the pictures are clear enough to make any snap judgements. Read More »

The following article by Nick Wakefield entitled 'New sighting of 'pure white, Alsatian-sized' cat in Nailsworth' appeared in the Stroud News & Journal on 12th January 2012. Read More »

Add to that the eerie atmosphere of dense woodland at night and it is enough to make the hairs on your neck stand on end.

But, that is what greeted two men who were out on a shooting trip in an East Yorkshire wood. Read More »

On 14 December 2011 The Daily Mail featured the following article by Chris Parsons entitled 'Killer beast stalks Olympic Park as experts fear alligator or python is on the loose'. Read More »

Jennifer Bell published the following story entitled 'North Yorkshire big cat fears after sheep is savaged' in The York Press on 1st December 2010.

A BIG cat is feared to be on the prowl in North Yorkshire after a sheep was savaged and killed. Read More »